The sea ice in the Arctic has melted to a record low this year. Yachts are not voyaging where once only large icebreakers could travel. Recently, the three man crew of the Belzebub II, a 1976 built Hallberg-Rassy Monsun 31 sloop, successfully completed a three month transit of the fabled Canadian Northwest Passage, including becoming the first sailboat to cross the infamous M’Clure strait, which normally would be icebound. From the expedition web site:
Photo: Belzebub II crew
“The Arctic is melting at an alarming rate and is clear proof of our disharmony with the planet. By sailing this newly opened route we hope that our expedition will play a small part in bringing further attention to climate change and contributing to a larger shift in attitudes. Our approach to sail across a historical stretch of water that has traditionally been frozen is meant to be a clear visual example of the extent of declining polar ice.”
The 
Two great schooner festivals and regattas are now underway on Massachusetts’ Cape Ann and Cape Cod. On Cape Ann, the 
The 
Tonight’s sky will be graced by a “blue moon.” It is the first blue moon since New Year’s Eve 2009. The next blue moon won’t appear until July 2015. Tonight’s full moon won’t actually be blue for most of us. A “blue moon” is commonly defined as the second full moon in a calendar month. It doesn’t happen often and so is the inspiration for the phrase, “once in a blue moon.”
Tomorrow, Friday August 31 through Monday September 3, 2012, the 
If you are near New York harbor, there is a closing party for the “Ships of New York Harbor: Marine Art of Christina Sun and Frank Hanavan” exhibit on the 
Last January